Artemisia (1997)

Director:

Agnès Merlet

Writers:

Patrick Amos (writer)
Agnès Merlet (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Her passion for her art changed the face of history.

Plot:

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth...

Plot Keywords:

Courtroom | One Word Title | Virgin | Defloration | Male Model

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Valentina Cervi	...	Artemisia Gentileschi
Michel Serrault	...	Orazio Gentileschi
Miki Manojlovic	...	Agostino Tassi
Luca Zingaretti	...	Cosimo Quorli
Emmanuelle Devos	...	Costanza
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Roberto
Maurice Garrel	...	The Judge
Brigitte Catillon	...	Tuzia
Yann Trégouët	...	Fulvio
Jacques Nolot	...	The Lawyer
Silvia De Santis	...	Marisa
Renato Carpentieri	...	Nicolo
Dominique Reymond	...	Tassi's Sister
Liliane Rovère	...	The Rich Merchant's Wife
Alain Ollivier	...	The Duke

Also Known As:

Artemisia (USA)
Artemisia - Schule der Sinnlichkeit (Germany)
Artemisia - passione estrema (Italy)

Runtime:

Argentina:97 min | France:98 min

Country:

France | Germany | Italy

Language:

French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | France:U | Germany:16 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating after appeal)

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Black Forest Films

Trivia:

The movie is a biography of the painter Artemisia Gentileschi, but many major details of her life were changed, leading to widespread criticism. In the movie, the relationship between Artemisia and Agostino is portrayed as a beautiful love affair, and the reason Artemisia is is tortured is because she refuses to testify that he raped her. In reality, Agostino really did rape Artemisia (and other women), and the reason she was tortured was because she did testify in court that he had raped her.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The painting displayed at the trial, Judith Decapitating Holofernes, was painted c. 1618, 6 years after the 1612 trial of Tassi. The self-portrait she shows Tassi was painted in the 1630's, long after she met Tassi.

Quotes:

Orazio Gentileschi: You're always painting saints by day and sinning by night.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1998) (TV)

interesting and not nearly as raunchy as you'd expect

I picked up this film not realizing it was a "controversial film"--having initially gotten an NC-17 rating before being changed to R after appeal. Well, apart from a few penis shots here and there that were appropriate for the film (these were nude models the lady was painting), this was not all that "rauchy" a film. Instead, it is an interesting bio-pic about an early female painter and her quest for acceptance--as well as an ensuing scandal when she began to sleep with her much older AND married mentor. The acting was good and the cinematography was good as well. Perhaps the only real short-coming is that the story wasn't all that compelling AND I had a hard time caring about the female and male leads. So, overall it was good but a tad flat.